The final game of the Milford Recreation Department’s Ken Woznick Memorial Postseason Playoff Championship turned into a 3-point shootout when Jim Denno Design faced Phillips Insurance at the Parsons Complex.
The top-seeded Designers knocked down a 15 three-pointers, including nine in the second half, en route to an 87-57 win over defending champions Phillips Insurance.
With the victory, Jim Denno Design capped off an unbeaten season at 16-0 and secured their first-ever Woznick playoff championship, along with claiming the regular-season title.
Tim Macinanti powered Denno with 23 points, while Alex Hopkins added 21, 15 coming in the first half when the Designers built up a 40-14 halftime edge.
Danny Denno chipped in with 17 points and Trent Western 13, while league most outstanding player Joe Baccielo notched seven points after arriving early in the second half.
Pat Stirk paced sixth-seeded Phillips (10-7) with 23 points. Marc Alvarez scored 11 points and Ryan Swaller 10.
Jim Denno Design opened up the game on a 17-4 run, capped by a driving layup by Western, before Stirk shook free for a basket in the post.
Hopkins answered on the other end with a lay-in and Danny Denno sank a leaner to push Design’s lead to 21-6 — leading to a Phillips’ timeout.
Coming out of the break, Macinanti connected on an NBA-range 3-pointer.
After Kyle Phillips went high off the glass to narrow his team’s deficit to 27-10, the Designers reeled off six straight points (two baskets by Hopkins and another by Danny Denno).
Stirk countered with back-to-back layups to make it 33-14, but Jim Denno Design got a 3-pointer from Western to spark a 7-0 run to finish out the opening 20 minutes.
Phillips Insurance looked to rally to start the second half, stringing together a 12-3 run over the opening 3:28. Alvarez buried a 3-pointer, the first of the game for Phillips, and Swaller swished a short jumper to make it 43-26 — leading to a Jim Denno Design timeout.
Hopkins, Macinanti and Western then drained consecutive shots from beyond the arc, extending the Designers margin to 52-26.
Alvarez sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around another from Macinanti, before Danny Denno converted a feed from Baccielo into a an old-fashioned three-pointer play that stopped a string of seven straight combined 3-point field goals by both teams.
The southpaw Stirk then stepped behind the arc to drain a 3-pointer, making it 61-35 Denno.
Baccielo’s fast-break dunk then pushed the lead to 67-41. Another 3-pointer from Stirk and layup by Jay Wetheral got Phillips to within 72-51, the closest it would get the rest of the way. A 15-6 flurry by Jim Denno Design to close the game put the final scoreline at 87-57.
Members of the title-winning Jim Denno Design squad are: player/coach Nathan Denno, Danny Denno, Alex Hopkins, Joe Baccielo, Chris Keator, Tim Macinanti, Trent Western and Jerome Dumas.